Gotbaum Memorial Celebrates Caustic Labor Leader Who Helped Save City

Those who attended the May 4 memorial service for Victor Gotbaum at the Museum of Jewish Heritage heard him described as “a life-force” who “loved politics, negotiations and show tunes”; as someone who matured “from implacable foe of banks to far-sighted and brilliant labor leader” during the 1975 city fiscal crisis, and as a man who embodied essential components of New York: “grit, noise, obscenity, high energy, intellect.”

Perhaps the most on-the-money tribute came from his son Josh, who called him “a famously profane, always-passionate advocate for workers, for the oppressed and for the community.”